Supervisors Grudgingly Approve Raises for Sheriff’s Deputies

Milwaukee County Courthouse. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

The Milwaukee County Board approved a new series of raises for Milwaukee County Sheriff‘s deputies Thursday, but a number of supervisors took the floor to express grudging support for the raises and to call on the sheriff’s office to rein in its overtime spending.

The raises approved Thursday were the result of negotiations between the county administration and the Milwaukee Deputy Sheriff’s Association (MDSA). The new one-year contract includes a 3% pay increase for all sheriff’s deputies and a 5.5% increase for deputies at the top of the wage scale.

One justification for the raises is to shore up staffing in the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) to avoid the need to need to rely less on overtime work from existing deputies. The county board increased the minimum hourly pay for corrections officers from $26 to $30 in 2024 to bolster recruitment and retention at the jail after years of staffing shortages.

Sup. Justin Bielinski was the first to take the floor at the board’s meeting, telling his colleagues he believes every working person deserves cost of living salary increases.

“Every working person deserves a cost of living wage [increase] every year, even when they’re a highly paid competitive wage, and that includes our sheriff’s department. Bielinski said. “But $5.5 million over budget — as we found out this week they’re projected to be by the end of the year — is not acceptable.”

The supervisor was referencing a recent report from the Office of the Milwaukee County Comptroller showing the MCSO was projecting an overtime deficit of $5.5 million. As Urban Milwaukee reported, the agency’s overtime deficit was a major factor in the comptroller’s countywide projection that showed county government was on track for a deficit of $6.4 million.

Sup. Juan Miguel Martinez shared Bielinski’s frustration and said it was deeply concerning that the department was projecting such a deficit even without factoring in the raises.

Martinez voted against the contract in committee but changed his vote in favor during the full board meeting. Voting down the contract would likely send the matter to arbitration, he said, and the deputies’ union would likely secure their raises anyway. Martinez said he didn’t want to waste any more of the county’s time or resources.

“But together, I think it’s important that we come up with some kind of solution to be able to get this under control,” he said.

Other supervisors shared similar sentiments.

“The vicious cycle we’re stuck in is that these deficits run by the sheriff’s department, deprive county government of the ability to deliver services that are upstream of the need for law enforcement intervention,” said Sup. Jack Eckblad.

Sup. Anne O’Connor noted that while the sheriff’s department struggles with staffing, the supervisors are hearing reports about potentially divesting the county of cultural institutions like the Charles Allis Art Museum and the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum. “So, yes, it is relevant to the other items in the budget.”

Bielinski said he wasn’t willing to cut funding for parks, transit or other county services to pay for MCSO overtime. The county needs to do “whatever it takes to get them to live within their means,” he said, noting he would support lobbying for more state funding or civilianizing some of the roles within the agency.

“Milwaukee County taxpayers are not some wealthy benefactor, happy to offer a blank check every time they go over budget year after year after year,” he said.

Sup. Steve Taylor said he understands not wanting to cut funding for other departments to pay the MCSO. “But when it comes to the sheriff’s department, there’s nothing we can do,” he said. “Nothing.”

Taylor did suggest that voters should attempt to hold the sheriff accountable at the ballot box.

“And [the sheriff] does have to face the voters,” he said. “So if they are constantly running in red, well, they should be held accountable at that time.”

Denita Ball was first elected to the role in November 2022, but had served as chief deputy since 2018.

As a constitutional officer, the Milwaukee County Sheriff has the legal authority to spend what is needed to discharge the state-mandated duties — jail, freeway patrol and court security among others — of the office. This gives the sheriff a unique budgetary authority within Milwaukee County government. While the board sets an annual budget for the office, the sheriff has the legal authority to spend beyond it.

In 2022, the MCSO overtime budget was cut by approximately 60%. But the sheriff’s office continued to spend millions in overtime to maintain staffing levels.

“Hopefully, by giving this modest increase in pay, we will be able to retain and recruit more sheriff’s deputies and therefore hopefully have less overtime,” said Sup. Steven Shea, adding that the board will likely revisit the issue of MCSO staffing and spending “again and again and again.”